Paul Sébillot
Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany.
Also recorded as Paul Sebillot · Sebillot
Paul Sébillot
Paul Sébillot · Paul Sébillot. Les littératures populaires de toutes les nations. Paris: J. Maisonneve, Libraire Éditeur · Public domain
- Born
- February 6, 1843
- Birthplace
- Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- Folklorist, painter, and writer
- Died
- 1918. · Paris.
- Nationality
- France.
- Movements
- Pont-Aven School.
- Known for
- Littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne and Contes de terre et de mer.
- Honours
- Knight of the Legion of Honour.
- Languages
- French.
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Documentary summary
Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany.
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Note VALÉORINE
Paul Sébillot (1843–1918) was a French children's writer, collector of fairy tales and ethnologist, among other activities. Born in Matignon, the children's writer died in Paris.
Paul Sébillot was a member of Société archéologique du Finistère and Société des gens de lettres and held the position of chairperson. The children's writer worked in Paris. Paul Sébillot was associated with Pont-Aven School.
Works include Contes de terre et de mer and Littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne. Languages used include French. Works by the children's writer are held at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Brieuc and Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Paul Sébillot received Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 30 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1352158 · wikipedia · Paul Sébillot
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is French. Places of work recorded in the authority are Paris. Positions recorded include chairperson. Works named in the authority record are Littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne and Contes de terre et de mer. Work by Paul Sébillot is recorded in the collections of Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Brieuc. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Literatura oral de Auvernia (tomo XXXV).
Paul Sébillot · Paul Sébillot. Littérature orale de L'Auvergne (tome XXXV). Paris: J. Maisonneve, Libraire Éditeur
Key facts
Key facts
• Born — February 6, 1843 • Birthplace — Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France • Place of death — Paris, France • Occupation — Folklorist, painter, and writer • Illustration — Les littératures populaires de toutes les nations (XXXV) 1898. • Illustration — Littérature orale de L'Auvergne (1898).
Early life and art
Early life and art
Sébillot came from an old Breton family and a line of doctors. His father Pierre Sébillot was cited for his devotion during the cholera epidemic of 1832 at Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, and became mayor of Matignon in 1848. After studying at the communal college of Dinan, Sébillot moved to Rennes to study jurisprudence, which he completed in Paris in 1863. Very interested in painting, he also took courses with Augustin Feyen-Perrin and in 1870 he exhibited at the Salon a canvas entitled Rochers à Marée Basse (Rocks at Low Tide), which was also later shown at London in 1872. Sébillot continued his painting until 1883, during which time fourteen of his works were shown at the Paris Salon and two at the Vienna World Fair in 1873. His inspiration was largely taken from the Breton landscape. He also contributed to several journals as an art critic: Le Bien Public, La Réforme, L'Art français and L'Art libre.
Selected works
Selected works
• Contes populaires de la Bretagne (popular stories of Brittany) • Le folklore de France (1906)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Paul Sebillot and Sebillot. His recorded language was French. One child is recorded: Paul-Yves Sébillot.
Career and activity
Career and activity
His work is associated with Pont-Aven School. Recorded position is chairperson. He belonged to Société des gens de lettres and Société archéologique du Finistère. He worked at Paris.
Identity
Identity
Paul Sébillot is recorded as painter, writer, folklorist, ethnologist and collector of fairy tales.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1843
Paul Sébillot born at Matignon.
1918
Paul Sébillot died at Paris.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Matignon.
Birth place
Paris.
Death place
Writings
In parallel with his art work Sébillot began a literary career with the publication in 1875 of La République, c’est la tranquillité the success of which was such that it was republished twice in the same year. It was at that time that he met the folklorist François-Marie Luzel who translated the book into Breton. After this he published new works regularly. In 1877, he created La Pomme, an association of Bretons and Normans, of which he became president the following year. In 1889, a monthly journal of the same name was created. In 1881 he initiated with Charles Leclerc the publication Collection des Littératures populaires de toutes les nations (Collection of the Popular Literatures of all Nations), to which he contributed La littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne (Oral Literature of Upper Brittany). In 1882, came the creation of the Société des Traditions populaires, which organized the Dîners de ma Mère l'Oye, meetings of folklorists which gave rise to the journal of the same name. From 1886 he became the general secretary of the association and assumed the direction of the journal. In 1889, he participated in the first Congress of Popular Traditions in Paris, and was named principal private secretary to the Ministry of Labour, when his brother-in-law, Yves Guyot was named Minister for Labour. He remained in this job until 1892, an ideal position from which to collect the information which would later be the subject of his book Les Travaux publics et les mines dans les traditions et superstitions de tous les pays (Public Works and the Mines in the Traditions and Superstitions of all Lands), in 1894. The following year, he collected the list of his publications (books and articles), under the title Autobibliographie. In 1905, he was named President of the Société d'anthropologie.
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Paul Sébillot received Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Paul Sébillot : le folkloriste et son terrain breton, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918). Un républicain promoteur des traditions populaires, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
- Paul Sébillot et les légendes locales : des sources pour une histoire « démocratique » ?, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918). Un républicain promoteur des traditions populaires, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
- Paul Sébillot, biographie lacunaire d’une personnalité aux multiples facettes, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918). Un républicain promoteur des traditions populaires, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1352158: Paul Sébillot
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Paul Sébillot”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Literature
Sébillot, Paul, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Sébillot, Paul, Enzyklopädie des Märchens Online
Paul Sébillot et les légendes locales: des sources pour une histoire « démocratique »?, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918)
Paul Sébillot: le folkloriste et son terrain breton, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- Hopkin, David (2010). “Legendary Places: Oral History and Folk Geography in Nineteenth-Century Brittany”, in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Hopkin, David (2010). « Paul Sébillot et les légendes locales : des sources pour une histoire ‘démocratique’ ? », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Voisenat, Claudie (2010). « Paul Sébillot à la revue L’Homme », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Voisenat, Claudie (2010). « Paul Sébillot à la Société d’anthropologie de Paris », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Voisenat, Claudie (2010). « Paul Sébillot et l’invention du folklore matérialiste », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Voisenat, Claudie (2008). « Paul Sébillot, vie et œuvre d’un ‘prince du folklore’ », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
- Voisenat, Claudie (2011). « Les relations Gaidoz-Sébillot ou la guerre des prééminences », in BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, Paris.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Paul Sébillot : le folkloriste et son terrain breton, Paul Sébillot (1843-1918). Un républicain promoteur des traditions populaires, 2011Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1352158: Paul SébillotWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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